The average American could be ingesting the equivalent of approximately one credit card worth of plastic every week. Yes, weekly!

An August 2019 Consumer Report detailing “How to Eat Less Plastic” cited two different research studies which had the goal of determining how much plastic humans are consuming. The reports had the following conclusions:

• Per an ACS publication, we ingest about 74,000 microplastic (< or equal to 5mm) particles per year

• Per the University of Newcastle, Australia research, which is being reviewed for publication, we consume as much as 5 grams of plastic per week, or about one credit card worth

Here’s some major takeaways from the Consumer Reports article:

• Less than 10% of the 8 billion tons of plastic humans have produced (mostly since the 1950s) has been recycled.

• Over time, plastic breaks down into tiny particles that make their way into lakes, rivers, and oceans, eventually contaminating our food and water. Much of our food comes wrapped in plastic which also leads to tiny particles breaking off into our meals, and containers like plastic water bottles can produce twice as many microplastics that we ingest compared to alternative consumption methods such as tap water.

• There is so much plastic all around that we even breathe in tens of thousands of tiny plastic fragments or fibers every year.

• Because this phenomenon of ingesting microplastics is so new, the long term effects on human health is unclear. That being said, it is certain that there will be some effects (per Pete Myers, Ph.D., founder and chief scientist of the nonprofit Environmental Health Sciences and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University), which may include: organ problems, reproductive harm, exposure to harmful chemicals, and obesity.

 The takeaway as it relates to BÆST is that by lowering the company’s environmental footprint is an important step in the right direction and one that we strive for.

 Unlike most other companies, polyester and similar synthetic materials (which are derived primarily from plastic) are not the main ingredients in our garments. We use natural, sustainable, responsible ingredients like bamboo, soy, and organic cotton. Sure, it helps to include polyester or the like in order to provide additional stretch and strength, but when we do utilize them, we try to be as socially responsible as possible by using only recycled versions (rPET). The recycled polyester that we use, when we have the need to use it in production, helps alleviate some of the pressures that new plastics have on the environment (including humans), as well as recycling plastics and polyester that are otherwise non-biodegradable.

It is important to us to initiate a change in the way apparel is manufactured. We’re using the highest quality, environmentally friendly and sustainable ingredients that we can find, and we that hope others follow suit. As a company that holds itself accountable for the impact that it has, both in terms of positive impacts like social change and negative impacts like waste from manufacturing, we strive to do the right thing every step of the way. 

To learn more about us, head to www.baestapparel.com, or find us on Instagram @baestapparel.

P.S. - According to the Consumer Report, the production of plastic material is projected to quadruple between 2015 and 2050. We will let you determine and think about how that will affect the total human microplastic consumption.